Child Injury Prevention Topics
1. Burn Prevention
Younger children are more likely to sustain injuries from scald burns that are caused by hot liquids or steam, while older children are more likely to sustain injuries from flame burns that are caused by direct contact with fire.
Key Prevention Tips
- Install and maintain smoke alarms in your home
- Create and practice a family fire escape plan, and involve kids in the planning.
- Cook with care.
- Check water heater temperature
2. Poisoning Prevention
Everyday items in your home, such as household cleaners and medicines, can be poisonous to children as well. Medication dosing mistakes and unsupervised ingestions are common ways that children are poisoned. Active, curious children will often investigate—and sometimes try to eat or drink—anything that they can get into.
Key Prevention Tips
- Lock the medications and toxic products away.
- Know the number or program it into your cell phone.
- Follow label directions carefully and read all warnings when giving medicines to children.
- Don’t keep the drugs or toxic products if you don’t need it.
3. Drowning Prevention
Drownings are a leading cause of injury death for young children ages 1 to 14, and three children die every day as a result of drowning. In fact, drowning kills more children 1-4 than anything else except birth defects.
Key Prevention Tips
- Learn life-saving skills like swimming and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
- Install a four–sided isolation fence, with self–closing and self–latching gates, around backyard swimming pools.
- Make life jackets a must.
- Be on the look out.
4. Road Traffic Safety
Every hour, nearly 150 children between ages 0 and 19 are treated in emergency departments for injuries sustained in motor vehicle crashes. More children ages 5 to 19 die from crash-related injuries than from any other type of injury.
Key Prevention Tips
- Install and Use Car & Booster Seats Properly
- Seat Children in the Back Seat
- Don't Seat Children in Front of an Airbag
- Seat Children in the Middle of the Back Seat
- Use Proper Restraints Every Trip
- Parents and Caregivers: Always Wear a Seat Belt
5. Fall Prevention
Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries for all children ages 0 to 19. Every day, approximately 8,000 children are treated in U.S. emergency rooms for fall-related injuries. This adds up to almost 2.8 million children each year.
Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries for all children ages 0 to 19. Every day, approximately 8,000 children are treated in U.S. emergency rooms for fall-related injuries. This adds up to almost 2.8 million children each year.
Key Prevention Tips
- Play safely.
- Make your home safer.
- Keep sports safe.
- Supervision is key.
6. Sports Safety
Taking part in sports and recreation activities is an important part of a healthy, physically active lifestyle for kids. But injuries can, and do, occur. More than 2.6 million children 0-19 years old are treated in the emergency department each year for sports and recreation-related injuries.
Key Prevention Tips
- Use the right protective gear such as helmets, wrist guards, knee or elbow pads.
- Use the right stuff.
- Get an action plan in place.
- Pay attention to temperature.
- Be a good model.